ANNUAL REPORT
2020 Working at the crossroads of nature and culture TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE MEDITERR ANEAN
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About us Our mission is to inspire people to recognise the value and connection between our natural and cultural heritage, and to work towards a just and sustainable future in the Mediterranean and beyond.
Areas of Action Connecting natural & cultural heritage we view nature and culture as two sides of the same coin
Traditional Knowledge as a source of innovation we link our past with our future
Local solutions for sustainable development we focus on community cooperation and local potential
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Our tools
Interdisciplinary research
Working with communities
Exchange of knowledge & networking
Synthesising innovative ideas
Our Values Diversity
Modesty Fairness
Passion
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2020 Highlights in our Action Areas Connecting natural & cultural heritage
We are proud partners in the newly launched Cultural H.ID.RAN.T project which aims to re-introduce Hadrian’s Aqueduct from the Roman period to the contemporary urban life of Halandri in Athens in order to raise awareness of local cultural and natural heritage and contribute to citizens’ wellbeing.
We published 3 reports and 2 journal articles on the natural and cultural environment of Lemnos as part of the Terra Lemnia project on: ▶ the traditional agro-pastoral “mandra” system of Lemnos ▶ local knowledge on medicinal plant harvesting ▶ rural landscape changes ▶ biodiversity and soil status.
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We developed and applied a landscape approach for cultural landscapes in Lemnos, in collaboration with partners from Morocco, Portugal and Lebanon.
We coordinated the #MedFoodHeroes campaign to raise awareness on the links between biodiversity, gastronomic heritage and sustainability.
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Traditional Knowledge as a source of innovation Our team restored 26 traditional micro-dams that enhance both the aquifer and biodiversity on Kythera island in collaboration with local partners and the local community.
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We actively supported the inscription of “the art of melipasto/melichloro cheese of Lemnos” in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
We led on the development of a Standard of Good Farming Practices on traditional, biodiversity friendly agro-pastoral practices in Lemnos, as the operationalization of 3 years of interdisciplinary research.
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Local solutions for sustainable development ▶ We are supporting the Municipality of Thermo on the development of a local sustainable development plan. ▶ We led on the creation of a certification scheme “Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity” for local products derived from low input biodiversity friendly agro-pastoral practices, currently piloted in Lemnos and Kythera islands. ▶ We established the “Network of Land Stewards” of Lemnos - 11 farmers that will voluntarily apply the certification scheme and use precision farming tools under our team’s guided training. ▶ We finalized the study for the extension of the trails network in Kythera Kythera Trails.
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▶ We published the "Legal Toolkit: A Legal Guide for the protection of rivers. The case of Aoos river, in Epirus". ▶ We supported the inscription of the aspromytiko bean of Lemnos in the National Registry of crop landraces.
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2020 in numbers capacity building workshops organised
reports published
5
15
2
3
journal articles published
new projects launched
FINANCE 2020 - REVENUE (%) 3%
0%
2%
95%
▶ Donations ▶ Sponsorships - MAVA Foundation ▶ Sponsorships - Ministry of Culture and Sports ▶ Credit interest
FINANCES 2020 - EXPENSES (%) 22%
0%
2% 3% 73%
▶ Projects - MAVA Foundation ▶ Projects - SIPATH ▶ Projects - Green Fund ▶ Projects - LEADER CLLD ▶ Core Funding - MAVA Foundation
Partners and donors “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin
Our accomplishments this year were achieved through our close collaboration with trusted partners such as the University of Aegean, the Agricultural University of Athens, the Kytherian Foundation for Culture and Development, the Tour du Valat, IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and many others. A big thank you is owed to all our funders this year; the Green Fund, Urban Innovative Actions, and the Greek Ministry of Culture. A very special thank you is reserved for the MAVA Foundation for Nature that has supported MedINA throughout the years and made our work possible in 2020 as well!
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